Reglet and flashing therefor



March 22, 1966 E. T. BERG 3,241,271

REGLET AND FLASHING THEREFOR Original Filed June 26, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 R W W March 22, 1966 E. T. BERG REGLET AND FLASHING THEREFOR Original Filed June 26, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v d I United States Patent 3,241,271 REGLET AND FLASHING THEREFOR Edward T. Berg, 187 Fremont St., San Francisco, Calif. Continuation of application Ser. No. 205,295, June 26, 1962. This application July 27, 1964, Ser. No. 386,813 2 Claims. (CI. 5258) This is a continuation of US. patent application Serial Number 205,295, filed on June 26, 1962, now abandoned, for a Reglet and Flashing Therefor.

The present invention relates to the channels known as reglets which are built into, or are secured to, walls to hold flashings in their proper position wherein they prevent seepage of moisture from vertical or inclined walls into the space underneath roofing materials that partially cover these walls.

It is an object of my invention to provide a reglet into which a flashing may easily be engaged and once engaged, will dependably be held in its proper position, and yet may readily be removed therefrom by proper manipulation, without need for excessive force or the application of tools, and without deforming or otherwise damaging the reglet or the flashing.

This and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the accompanying drawings which illustrate certain preferred em- .bodirnents thereof and wherein FIGURE 1 is a vertical cross section through a concrete .wall to which a reglet embodying my invention has been secured;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective of the same type of reglet as viewed from the side of the wall to which it is secured;

. FIGURE 4 is a vertical section through yet another embodiment of my invention.

Having first reference to FIGURE 1, the reglet of my ,invention comprises a channel part 12 that is located at and connected to the upper end of, and forms an integral structure with, a bracket part 14. The lower flange 16 of the channel 12 slants downwardly in the direction of the channel mouth 18 and has a thoroughly smooth planar inner surface. The upper flange 22 of the channel part is connected to the lower flange 16 by a curved or arcuate bight portion 41 and has an initial portion 23 whose inner surface forms an acute angle with, and diverges from the plane defined by the inner surface of the lower channel flange 16 in the direction of the channel mouth to a point above the free outer edge 24 of said lower flange. At this point the upper flange is bent downwardly to form a terminal portion 26 having an outer edge 27 that projects beyond the outer edge 24 of the lower flange and which has a planar inner surface that forms an obtuse angle with the inner surface of said first portion 23 and converges toward the plane defined by the inner surface of said lower flange. Thus, the arrangement is such that the shortest distance between the free end edge 24 of the bottom flange and the inner surface of the terminal portion 26 of top flange 23 is somewhat narrower than the shortest distance between the inner surface of the bottom flange and the juncture line of the two top flange portions 22 and 26,, as apparent from any one of FIGURES 1 to 4.

The bracket part 14 of the reglet has the cross sectional contour of an L forming a concavity 28 at the side of the reglet opposite to the mouth 18 of the channel part. This concavity faces the wall to which the reglet is s..- cured and contains a suitable moisture-excluding sealing compound 30. Nails or screws may be employed for 3,241,271 Patented Mar. 22, 1966 fastening the bracket part of the reglet to the wall, as shown at 31 in FIGURE 1.

Having still reference to FIGURE 1, the reference numeral 32 identifies the flashing which is to protect the upper edges of roofing material 34 from moisture. The top end of said flashing is bent to form a channel-shaped lip 36 that is engaged into the channel part 12 of the reglet through the mouth 18 thereof. Said lip has a bottom portion 38 that slants upwardly in parallelism with and bears against the inner surface of the bottom flange 16 of channel part 12 when the lip is engaged thereinto, and a top portion 40 that is bent backwardly upon said bottom portion and is connected to said bottom portion by a curved or arcuate bight portion 39 and is about equal in width, or may be slightly wider than, the initial portion 23 of the top flange 22 of channel part 12. Said top portion has its outer end portion folded backwardly upon itself in the manner of a hair pin as shown at 42. When the lip 36 of the flashing is fully engaged in the reglet channel 12 with its bight portion 39 bearing against the bight portion 41 of the reglet channel, the free end edge 42 of the flashing lip bears against the inner surface of the downwardly slanting terminal portion 26 of the upper flange of the channel, as shown in FIGURE 1.

The channel part 12 of the reglet is preferably made of extruded metal and is therefore rigid; the flashing 32, however, is made from a somewhat yieldable and resilient material, such as sheet metal. Its lip 36 is, therefore, compressible and may thus be forced with relative ease through the narrow mouth 18 of the reglet channel into the interior thereof, and once inserted, will open up and snap into the position illustrated in FIGURE 1 wherein its bottom portion 38 bears against the inner surface of the bottom flange 16 of the reglet channel. and its bight portion 39 bears against the bight portion 41 of the reglet channel, while its free end portion 42 bears against, and is retained by, the downwardly slanting inner surface of the unyielding terminal portion 26 of the topflange of the reglet channel. In this position of lip 36 within channel 12, the flashing 32 is firmly and dependably held in its proper position wherein it protects the upper edges of the roofing material 34 against seepage, and resists positively any effort in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the wall, to disengage it from the reglet. On the other hand, if it is desired to remove the flashing, such as may be necessary for the purpose of exchanging or replacing a corroded flashing, it is merely necessary to take hold of one of the end edges of the flashing and pull it about a vertical axis away from the wall. This brings the end edge 42 of the yieldable upper portion 40 of the lip 36 against the rigid terminal portion 26 of channel 12, whose planar inner surface lies in a plane that converges toward the plane defined by the inner surfaoe of the bottom flange of the reglet channel in the direction of the channel mouth; and as a result thereof the end edge areas of the upper and lower portions of said lip 36 are compressed and will readily emerge from the narrow mouth of the reglet channel, whereupon the remainder of the lip may easily be peeled from the channel without the aid of a tool and without requiring any great force. Thus, the invention provides what amounts to a snap lock arrangement for supporting a flashing in position from within a reglet, and flashings which may now be easily engaged in reglets by unskilled labor, are dependably held in their proper positions from within the reglets, and may be disengaged from the reglets, whenever necessary, with unprecedented ease and without the use of tools or the application of force, such as might deform or otherwise damage either the flashing or the reglet.

The reglet of my invention includes also means that make it possible for an ordinary craftsman to install abutting reglet sections in such precise alignment with each other as will allow introduction of a common flashing into the channel part 12 of several adjacently positioned reglet sections. Having again reference to FIGURE 1, provided parallel and adjacent to, but spaced from, the inner surface of the vertical front wall 44 of the bracket part 14 along the top and bottom edges thereof are longitudinally extending ribs or fillets 46a and 46b which form, with said front wall, grooves or guide ways 48a and 48b, respectively, for the reception therein of the top and bottom edges of a flat board-shaped spline or splicing member 50 (FIGURE 2).

When a first reglet section is secured to the wall such as the section 52 shown in FIGURE 2, such a spline 50 is partially inserted into, and suitably secured within, the guide ways 48a and 48b of said section in such a manner that a portion of the spline 50 projects laterally from the end edge of the reglet section, as likewise shown in FIG- URE 2. The guide ways 48a and 48b of another reglet section 54 may then be engaged over the projecting end of the spline 50 whereupon said spline holds the two sections in precise alignment with each other. It is now merely necessary for the craftsman to fasten the second reglet section to the wall, such as by means of the nails or screws, without danger that the sections may become misaligned during the fastening process.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG- URE 3 has a retaining channel part 12, for the lip of a flashing, which is of the same construction as the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2. It differs from said last mentioned embodiment merely by the fact that its bracket part is formed by a flat bar 60 which extends substantially in the same plane as the upper flange of the reglet channel and which may be em bedded in the mortar 62 between superposed layers of concrete blocks 64 as shown in said FIGURE 3. Along its opposite longitudinal edges said bar 60 may be provided with guide ways 48a and 48b for the reception of a splicing member 50 in the same manner as the bracket part 14 of the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, so that juxtaposed sections of the reglet may dependably be held in perfect longitudinal alignment with each other. The inner end of bracket bar 60 of the reglet may be provided with a cross piece such as shown at 66, to prevent wobbling of the reglet in the space between the superposed layers of blocks.

'FIGURE 4 illustrates yet another embodiment of my invention which may be employed to suspend protective flashings from overhanging plaster walls, such as shown at 68. In this embodiment of the invention the retaining channel 12 is arranged at the bottom end of, and substantially at right angles to, a bracket bar 70; and provided adjacent to the longitudinal top and bottom edges of said bracket bar are the same guide ways 48a and 48b for the reception of an alignment-establishing spline 50 as in the bracket parts of the embodiments of the invention illustrated in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3.

While I have described my invention with the aid of certain embodiments thereof, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific constructional details shown and described by way of example, which may be departed from without departing from the scope and spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. The combinaton of a reglet comprising a bracket part for attachment to a wall and a channel part of rigid material connected to said bracket part and comprising a bottom flange, a top flange, a bight portion connecting said flanges along one side thereof, the opposite sides of said flanges being arranged to form an open mouth for the reception of a flashing, said bottom flange having a planar inner surface and a free end edge and said top flange having a first inner surface arranged to form an acute angle with and diverge from the inner surface of said bottom flange in the direction from said bight portion toward said mouth, and an adjoining second planar inner surface having a free end edge and arranged to form an obtuse angle with said first inner surface and converge toward the plane defined by the inner surface of said bottom flange; with a flashing of resilient sheet material having a channel-shaped lip in engagement with said reglet channel through said open mouth thereof, said lip comprising a bottom portion bearing against the inner surface of said bottom flange of said channel part, a bight portion bearing against the bight portion of said channel part and a top portion having a free terminal edge bearing against said second inner surface of said top flange of said channel part.

2. The combination of a reglet comprising a bracket part for attachment to a wall and a channel part of rigid material connected to said bracket part and comprising a bottom flange, a top flange, a bight portion connecting said flanges along one side thereof, the opposite sides of said flanges being arranged to form an open mouth for the reception of a flashing, said bottom flange having a planar inner surface and a free end edge and said top flange having a first inner surface arranged to form an acute angle with and diverge from the inner surface of said bottom flange in the direction from said bight portion toward said mouth to a point above the free end edge of said bottom flange and an adjoining second planar inner surface having a free end edge and arranged to form an obtuse angle with said first inner surface and converge toward the plane defined by the inner surface of said bottom flange to a level establishing a shortest distance between the free end edge of said bottom flange and said second inner surface of said top flange that is smaller than the shortest distance between the inner surface of said bottom flange and the junction line between said first and second inner surfaces of said top flange; with a flashing of resilient sheet material having a channelshaped lip in engagement with said channel part through said open mouth thereof, said lip comprising a bottom portion bearing against the inner surface of the bottom flange of said channel part, a bight portion bearing against the bight portion of said channel part and a top portion terminating with a backwardly folded end portion bearing against said second inner surface of said top flange of said channel part.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,231,711 7/1917 Cordes 5261 2,168,204 8/ 1929 Hanson S260 2,219,992 10/1940 Hanson 5260 2,250,548 7/1941 Ness 52-60 2,260,438 10/1941 Cheney 52-60 2,3 60,031 1 0/1944 Andrews 52-61 2,807,222 9/1957 Fry 5261 2,822,762 2/1958 Berg 526O 2,857,861 10/1958 Frostle 52-94 2,874,654 2/1959 McCluney 5261 2,984,049 5/1961 Reddy 52-60 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

M. O. WARNECKE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. THE COMBINATION OF A REGLET COMPRISING A BRACKET PART OF ATTACHMENT TO A WALL AND A CHANNEL PART OF RIGID MATERIAL CONNECTED TO SAID BRACKET PART AND COMPRISING A BOTTOM FLANGE, A TOP FLANGE, A BIGHT PORTION CONNECTING SAID FLANGES ALONG ONE SIDE THEREOF, THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID FLANGES BEING ARRANGED TO FORM AN OPEN MOUTH FOR THE RECEPTION OF A FLASHING, SAID BOTTOM FLANGE HAVING A PLANAR INNER SURFACE AND A FREE END EDGE AND SAID TOP FLANGE HAVING A FIRST INNER SURFACE ARRANGED TO FORM AN ACUTE ANGLE WITH AND DIVERGE FROM THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID BOTTOM FLANGE IN THE DIRECTION FROM SAID BIGHT PORTION TOWARD SAID MOUTH, AND AN ADJOINING SECOND PLANAR INNER SURFACE HAVING A FREE END EDGE AND ARRANGED TO FORM AN OBTUSE ANGLE WITH SAID FIRST INNER SURFACE AND CONVERGE TOWARD THE PLANE DEFINED BY THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID BOTTOM FLANGE; WITH A FLASHING OF RESILIENT SHEET MATERIAL HAVING A CHANNEL-SHAPED LIP IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID REGLET CHANNEL-SHAPED LIP IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID LIP COMPRISING A BOTTOM PORTION BEARING AGAINST THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID BOTTOM FLANGE OF SAID CHANNEL PART, A BIGHT PORTION BEARING AGAINST THE BIGHT PORTION OF SAID CHANNEL PART AND A TOP PORTION HAVING A FREE TERMINAL EDGE BEARING AGAINST SAID SECOND INNER SURFACE OF SAID TOP FLANGE OF SAID CHANNEL PART. 